Final Table Set at WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star

Just Six Remain to Battle for $1 Million First Place Prize

The 2011 World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting Star $10,000 no-limit hold’em main event brought back 24 players on Thursday for Day 3, and when play was over just six remained to fight on at the final table on Friday.

The remaining players, who outlasted a field of 415 to play shorthanded for a first place prize of $1 million, are an elite contingent of poker pros.

Rajkumar is looking to avenge a second place finish at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic just two weeks ago. On Friday, the Seattle native could record a second career win in a WPT event, which would put him in the top 10 on the tour’s all-time money list. Rajkumar’s biggest career score came at the 2008 WPT Borgota Poker Open for $1.4 million.

Matusow, who enters the final table in third chip position, lost a $2 million weight loss prop bet to friend and fellow high stakes pro Ted Forrest this past summer. A win could help him recoup some of the money lost to Forrest.

Sexton, who has likely witnessed more WPT final tables than anyone in poker, will be missing from his usual spot in the commentary booth on Friday in an effort to capture his first WPT title.

The final table is rounded out by McCarrel, Sternberg, and Kelly who is the chip leader. Kelly will have plenty to work with, as his stack will consist of 209 big blinds when action resumes with blinds at 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante.

Sternberg built his massive stack in a cooler situation against eventual ninth place finisher Andrew Weisner. On a flop of 8 7 4, Sternberg checked, Weisner bet 100,000, and Sternberg called. The turn brought the Q, and Sternberg checked. Weisner fired 200,000, and Sternberg raised to 475,000.

Weisner shipped his entire remaining stack of 1,236,000 into the middle, and Sternberg quickly called, tabling the Q Q for top set. Weisner was drawing dead with the 8 7, and Sternberg jumped to second in chips with 3.4 million after winning the tournament’s largest pot thus far.

Matusow was another player who took advantage of a nice turn card to win a large pot on Day 3.

On a flop of A Q 8, Chris Trapani moved all in from the button for 436,000 with the A 8, and Mike Matusow called from the big blind with the inferior A K.

Fortunately for Matusow, the Q fell on the turn, and he was in command of the hand. The river bricked for Trapani, and he was gone from the tournament in 12th.

Matusow was the one who made the knockout of Tyler “puffinmypurp” Reiman in seventh place, to send the tournament to the official final table. Despite more than $7 million in career tournament earnings, the Full Tilt pro has never won a WPT event. That all could change as Matusow returns on Friday with more than 100 big blinds.

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